Paramount’s Deal With Skydance Falls Apart
Paramount’s Deal With Skydance Falls Apart - The New York Times
Supported by
SKIP ADVERTISEMENT
Paramount’s Deal With Skydance Falls Apart
There were several hitches in the last week as Skydance, Paramount and its parent company, National Amusements, reached the final stages of negotiations
Skydance’s merger talks with Paramount were called off Tuesday after the two sides failed to agree on terms, according to two people with knowledge of the talks, scuttling a deal that has captivated Hollywood for months.
The suspended negotiations derail attempts to unite Paramount — the parent company of CBS, MTV and Nickelodeon — with Skydance, the up-and-coming movie studio behind “Top Gun: Maverick.”
There were several hitches in the last week as Skydance, Paramount and its parent company, National Amusements, reached the final stages of negotiations. Shari Redstone, Paramount’s controlling shareholder, wanted Skydance to agree to provide some legal protection for the deal in case investors filed a lawsuit. A committee of Paramount’s board members evaluating the plan also fired a public relations firm that it had been using.
One sign of the tension emanating from both sides of the deal was the sheer length of negotiations. The talks — with National Amusements, Paramount and National Amusements again — stretched from late last year until this week, and were also rife with leaks, never a sign of harmonious negotiations.
“Sometimes the game ends with a goal-line stand,” said Rich Greenfield, an analyst for LightShed Partners.
It’s unclear what the future holds for Paramount. The company was exploring a deal amid gale-force headwinds to the traditional media industry, including the demise of traditional television, a problem that is only likely to worsen. The company’s share price has fallen precipitously in recent years, as investors grew increasingly critical of the company’s prospects.
The Wall Street Journal earlier reported talks between Skydance and National Amusements had fallen apart.
Benjamin Mullin reports on the major companies behind news and entertainment. Contact Ben securely on Signal at +1 530-961-3223 or email at benjamin.mullin@nytimes.com. More about Benjamin Mullin
Lauren Hirsch joined The Times from CNBC in 2020, covering deals and the biggest stories on Wall Street. More about Lauren Hirsch
Inside the Media Industry
-
The Washington Post: The
departure of Sally Buzbee from the newspaper, where she had been editor since 2021, adds to growing tensions between the newsroom and its chief executive.
-
British Invasion: As a historic presidential election looms, several of America’s largest newsrooms are now being led by English journalists.
Here’s why.
-
Luring Liberals Back to Cable TV: Jon Stewart’s and Rachel Maddow’s Monday night programs have become
something close to appointment viewing for Democrats anxious about a close election.
-
Trump Verdict: In a riveting moment, every major TV network broke in to daytime programming for the announcement of the verdict against Donald Trump.
Then the punditry began.
-
‘Inside the NBA’: Next season could be the last for TNT’s influential and beloved studio show. Charles Barkley, for one,
will not be going quietly.
Related Knowledge Center: Climate diplomacy
Talks are well underway in preparation for the next major international meeting on climate change, 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28), scheduled to begin Nov. 30 in the United Arab Emirates.
Much like last year’s COP27, finances — specifically, aid to developing nations — will be at the center of conference deliberations.
The conference faces an even greater sense of urgency brought on by the Sept. 8, 2023, release of the first global stocktake, which calls for accelerated action to meet the goals set in the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement (COP21).
Climate diplomacy: COP 27 | Climate diplomacy: COP 28 | Climate diplomacy: COP 29